Preservation of food products



' tion and use of acetone-soluble material nal' plant tissue.

Patented Apr. 24, Q1951 ENT OFFICE PRESERVATIONHOF FOOD PRODUCTS" LloydB. Jensen,

Chicago, 111., assignor to Swift &

Company, Chicago, 11]., a corporationof Illinois No Drawing. ApplicationJune 20, 1949, Serial No. 100,291

6 Claims. (Cl. 99-150) 1 The present invention relates to the preparaanantibiotic substance, and more'particularly to the preparation and useof an antimicrobial substance of plant'origin.

The invention contemplates the utilization of an antibiotic substancenaturally associated with the tissues of the plant C'hondrodendrontomentosum, commonly called pareira.

'An object of the present invention is to pro- :vide a potent antibioticsubstance of plant ori- A further object of the invention is to providean antibiotic substance which is nontoxic to humans.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an antibioticsubstance which is relatively heat stable. v

Another object of the invention is to employ an antibiotic" substancehaving an origin in a vegetative plant as an eiTective preservative forfood products.

In the preferred method of achieving the objects of the presentinvention, the finely cut or ground pareira root is treated with asuitable nonaqueous, organic solvent, such as acetone.

The acetone layer containing the constituents of the plant tissuesoluble therein i separated from the acetone-insoluble fibrous mass, theacetone .removed therefrom, and the extract taken up in a carriersolvent, such as ethanol.

The following examples illustrate the preferred embodiments of theinvention, and. the tests falling thereunder illustrate the potency ofthe ma-' terial obtained in accordance with the processes of theexamples.

Eazample.-50 Chandrodendron grams of the root of theplant tomentosumwere finely ground.

The ground plant tissue was then placed in a flask'and covered withacetone. The flask Was held at room temperature forapproximately 24hours and shaken at intervals. The acetone layer containing theacetone-soluble, constitu- V ents of the plant was separated from theinsoluble material by filtration, .and the acetone was distilled oil.under vacuum at 42 C. The residue was taken upin ethyl alcohol (95percent) so that 1 ml. of the alcoholic extract. contained the in3.grams of the origi In order to evaluate the effectiveness of theantibiotic material in the alcohol solution obtained in accordance withthe example, the fol-' lowing test was performed:

Serial dilutions of the extract were made in 10cc. broth tubes and thetubes inoculated with 2 bacteria. Each 10 ml. .broth tube containedabout 75,000 cells of a food poisoning strain of Staphylococcus aureus,Bacillus niger, C'lostrid- Table I Staph. aureus 400 500 Bacillus niger500 l, 000 Salmonella typhimurium 100 200 Achromobacter perolens. 200Not made Bacillus coli 200 Not made CZ. sporogenes 500 I l, 000

The foregoing table shows that the pareira antibotic has appreciableactivity against the gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus,

' Bacillus nicer, and Clostridium sporogenes, al-

though the results indicate that the effects of the said antibiotic varyin potency when tested against different organisms. Thus, the ex-' tractkills Bacillus niger and Clostridium sporogenes in dilutions as high as1 to 500, Staphylococcus aureus in dilutions as high as 1 to 400,Achromobacter perolens and Bacillus coli in dilutions as high as 1 to200, and Salmonella typhimarium in dilutions as high as 1 to 100. Thebactericidal properties of the extract, lethally effective in thedilutions indicated for the various organisms, were demonstrated byinoculating nutrient agar plates with 0.1 cc. .of the aforesaiddilutions which had been allowed to incubate for five days. After fivedays incubation of the inoculated plates, no viable bacteria wereobserved as a result of the transfers. Although acetone is solvent,'Ihave found that other nonaqueous organic solvents are suitable as theextracting solvent. For example, dioxane, ethyl acetate, methyl ethylketone, and ethanol may be used. I have also found a water extraction ofthe antibiotic material to be ineifective as an antibiotic, apparentlybecause of the, proteinaceous material dissolved therein.

The heat stability of the antibiotic material was determined by heatingportions of the mathe preferred primary 'cubating the material at atemperature of approximately 75 F. for five days, the lethal potency was1:500.

It is obvious that many variations in the solvent treating process maybe advantageously employed. For example, since the antibiotic materialisolated from the pareira plant is heat stable, solvent temperatures mayrange from room temperature to boiling temperature of the solvent withconsequent variations in extraction time. The higher the temperature,generally the less time is required for extraction. I have found itpreferable to process the antibiotic substance contained in stagesolvent process involving first treatingthe substance with a primarysolvent.-- which is subthe pareira plant by a twostantially removed, andthen taking up the resulting extract with another solvent so as to forma solution which is a convenient form of using the product. I have foundthat acetone is a most effective primary solvent in. producin theantibiotic substance from the plant tissue. After evaporating off theacetone,'the preferred solution is made with a carrier solvent, such asethanol, which may be consumed internally without harm. By using ethylalcohol, I also utilize its well-known properties, such as nontoxicityand ability to prevent contamination.

In the processing of food products, a serious problem is thepreservation thereof and although great strides have been quality andkeeping time of various food products by' refrigeration, canning,curing, plant sanitation, etc.,the problem of preservation of foodrequires the constant attention of the food processor to improvelong-established methods of treating food and'to devise new means offood control.

Food spoilage is due primarily to microbial action, and the species ofmicroorganism responsible for food deterioration are numerous. Thesporing genera, Clostridium and Bacillus, for example, whencontaminating food, causev food spoilage. Another serious concern of thefood handler is food poisoning, which is often of an insidious naturebecause food products maybe contaminated with one or more of the harmfulbacteria referred to herein and yet appear organoleptically sound. Amongthe food poisoning bacteria, the most common food poisoner isStaphylococcus.

The antibacterial substance of the present invention may be used toretard or prevent microbial growth in various food products, all ofwhich harbor pathogenic organisms in varying degrees. The antibioticmaterial disclosed herein, therefore, may advantageously be employed,for example, in treating meat productssuch as hams, sausages, and cannedmeats; cream' fillings for pastries, such as cream pulls, chocolateeclairs, Custards, and the like; and canned Vegetables to preventswelling due to organisms, such as the genus Bacillus.

The invention will be more fully understood from the followingdescription of methods of using the antibioticsubstance.

As hereinbefore mentioned, Ihave found that the antibiotic reagenthereindescribed is lethal to some microbes in a l to 500 dilution of theextract, the extract being of such strength that 1 ml. of the alcoholicsolution thereof contained the acetone-soluble constituents in 3'gramsof the plant. Therefore, the addition of 1 part of the solution to 500parts or less of the conventional pickling solution will result in ameatproduct made in improving the 1 ""herein described (1 ml.=3 g. oftissues).

To 100 gallons of a 90 Salometer solution there are added: '1 lbs.sodium nitrate 10 oz. sodium nitrite 20"lbs. sugar 378.500. antibioticsolution Luncheon meat was cured according to conventional methods inwhich the antibiotic substance was present in a l to 500 dilution. Themeat product was, placed in six G-pounol cans and retorted to an insidetemperature of 155 F. and incubated at 99 F. After 30 days ofincubation, no swelling of the cans could be observed. The control cansswelled in one week.

A further-example of the utility of the said antibiotic material is theuse in acream filling for various pastries. To determine theeffectiveness, a standard cream filling used in eclairs was inoculatedwith a bacterial solution containing 100,000 living Staphylococcusaureus 8-1 per 100 ml. andthe filling incubated at a temperature betweenF. and F. The results of tests are given in TableII. 1 7

Table H r n o ubate d at vr s o Dilution aphy ococcus -l Antibiotic .iricream gram filling 24 hrs. 48 hrs. 72 hrs. Pareiraroot 1-100 70, 000,000 No antibiotic 0 140, 000,000 No Staphy10c0cci 0 0 0 0 The foregoingtests indicate that the antibiotic preperation exerts a pronouncedinhibiting action against the Staphylococcus aureus in cream fillings.

Obviously; many modifications and variations of the invention ashereinbefore set forth may be made without departing from the spirit andscope thereof, and therefore only such limitations should be imposed asare indicated in the appended claims.

I claimt 1. In the process of treating food products, the step of addingto a food product a small amount-of an antibiotic substance derived fromthe plant Chondrodendron tome ntosum by treatment with a non-aqueousorganic solvent to preserve said food product against pathogenicbacteria responsible for food poisoning and spoilage.

2. In the process of quick-curing meats wherein a pickling solution isinjected into said meat, the step of adding to said pickling solution asmall amount of the antibiotic substance derived from the plantChondrodendron. tomentosum by treatment with anon-aqueous organicsolvent to substantially-retard the growth of pathogenic bacteriaresponsible for food spoilage and poisoning after the said solution isinjected into the said meat.

3. In the process of preparing pastries con- 5 a taining fillingssubject to spoilage by pathogenic bacteria, the step of adding to thesaid fillings a small amount of the antibiotic substance derived fromthe plant Chandrodendron tomentosum by treatment with a non-aqueousorganic solvent 6 to substantially retard the growth of pathogenicbacteria in the said fillings.

4. A meat pickle including a small amount of "an antibiotic substancederived from the plant I Chondrodendron tomentosum by treatment withdram, tomentosum to preserve said food product 0 against pathogenicbacteria responsible for food poisoning and spoilage.

LLOYD B. JENSEN. 7

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 469,850 Chesebrough Mar. 1, 18922,084,864 Paddock June 22, 1937 2,098,110 Schertz et a1. Nov. 2, 19372,117,478 Hall May 17, 1938 2,180,750 Urbain Nov. 21, 1939 OTHERREFERENCES Nature, May 13, 1944, vol. 153, page 598, ar-

. 15 ticle entitled Antibacterial Substances in Green Plants.

Chemical and Engineering News, September 1945, page 1622, articleentitled Penicillin as a Preservative.

The American Womans Cook Book, 1945, by Ruth Berolzheimer, published byConsolidated Book Publishers, Chicago, page 475.

1. IN THE PROCESS OF TREATING FOOD PRODUCTS, THE STEP OF ADDING TO AFOOD PRODUCT A SMALL AMOUNT OF AN ANTIBIOTIC SUBSTANCE DERIVED FROM THEPLANT CHONDRODENDRON TOMENTOSUM BY TREATMENT WITH NON-AQUEOUS ORGANICSOLVENT TO PRESERVE SAID FOOD PRODUCT AGAINST PATHOGENIC BACTERIARESPONSIBLE FOR FOOD POISONING AND SPOILAGE.